Most electrical storage batteries of the type used in association with generators or alternators driven by internal combustion engines for supplying electric current to starters, and other accessories of the engine, and to, for example, the various electrical components of an automotive vehicle are provided with upstanding tapered positive and negative terminal posts to which the required cables are clampingly attached. For many years, the clamping attachment of the cables has been accomplished by a split clamp formed of lead due to the inherent resistance of lead to acid induced deterioration. Briefly, this well known split clamp includes the lead body having a tapered hole formed therethrough to axially receive the battery terminal post, and the lead body is split radially of the tapered hole to provide a pair of spaced ears. A cross-bore is formed transversely through the spaced ears for receiving an adjusting bolt which in cooperation with a suitable nut applies a squeezing pressure on the ears to reduce the internal diameter of the tapered hole for clamping engagement with the battery terminal post. The cable is attached to the lead body so that conductive contact between the conductors of the cable and the terminal post of the battery is made through the lead body of the split clamp.
The above described split lead clamp has been one of the most troublesome devices on an automotive vehicle both from mechanical and electrical standpoints. Since lead is a relatively soft metal, it is easily stretched or otherwise deformed and is easily fatigued, and as a result, these prior art clamps cannot tolerate much in the way of abuse which normally occurs when installing, removing and reinstalling the clamps.
When these split battery clamps become stretched, to the extent where the ears are touching each other, the clamp looses its clamping ability and loose connections result. Oftentimes the ears of the clamp will become deformed making it very difficult to tighten or loosen the adjusting bolt which can result in several problems. When the bolt cannot be properly tightened, loose connections result, and when the bolt cannot be loosened it can become extremely difficult to remove the clamp and batteries have been ruined by loosening or breaking of the terminal post resulting from attempts to remove a tight clamp. Deformed ears have all too often resulted in rounding of the nut and the head of the bolt and stripping of the threads. Since the adjusting bolt and its associated nut cannot be made of lead, and must be formed of a harder metal, they are subject to acid induced deterioration and become heavily corroded which weakens them and also results in loosening and tightening problems.
In addition to the above mentioned and other mechanical problems of the prior art split battery clamps, they are also subject to electrical problems. A loose connection, of course, results in an increase in the resistance of the electric circuit and a consequent loss of power to the starter and other accessories. Even a clamp which appears to be tight can produce problems in that a corrosion build-up can occur between the terminal post and the internal surface of the clamp, and such corrosion will increase the resistance to current flow and in severe cases has been known to result in complete interruption of current flow in the circuit.
Therefore, a need exists for new and improved connectors for attaching battery cables to the terminal posts of electric storage batteries, with those connectors overcoming some of the problems and drawbacks of the prior art.
Furthermore, battery terminals are generally a continuing source of potential problems in automotive and related applications. Acidic fumes given off by the battery result in corrosion building up on the battery, and particularly on the battery terminals. The positive terminal of batteries is generally the location at which the most corrosion builds up. Corrosion, to a lesser extent, builds on the negative battery terminal, also.
When corrosion builds up on a battery terminal to the extent that it interferes with the electrical contact between the battery terminal and the clamp or connector which electrically connects an electrical cable to a battery, deterioration in the electrical system of the vehicle occurs. Ultimately, the deterioration results in a failure of the vehicle's electrical system. This is generally caused by an increase in resistance between the battery terminal and the attached cable and, ultimately, a cessation or breaking of electrical contact due to the corrosion.